Zealous Pictures is Enthusiastic about Marquis’ X2Pro for First Feature Film: Bokeh

Marquis has announced X2Pro Audio Convert which integrates Final Cut Pro X into the professional audio workflow has been used by San Francisco based independent film company Zealous Pictures to help finalise production of its first feature film Bokeh, shot entirely on location in Iceland (Facebook.com/bokehmovie).

Geoffrey Orthwein, director/editor of Bokeh explains: “The word ‘Bokeh’ (boke-uh), is a photographic term referring to the out-of-focus areas of an image. Our film Bokeh is the story of a couple who change their priorities and ideals based on an altered world. They are defined not just by what they focus on but what they choose to blur.

“As an independent editor I am responsible for all phases of the workflow,” explains Orthwein. “Previously, I had handled basic audio mixing within Final Cut Pro X, but as soon as I needed to send my projects for a full treatment, X2Pro became a clear choice for extending that workflow to standard programs like ProTools. I used X2Pro to deliver my edits to our audio mixer in an AAF that he could open and work with in his remote studio. The set up and packaging of the AAF in X2Pro is an easy and fast way to send the audio team everything they need to mix the project.

“The main X2Pro feature I use is AAF creation with embedded media, with handles, organized by Role” continues Orthwein. “In addition to the speed of the process, it really helps with the setup by being able to control all the Roles and Sub-Roles so that the audio mixer is as organized as possible from the moment he opens the project.

“We used X2Pro extensively while working on Bokeh,” confirms Orthwein. “I exported edits via X2Pro and sent them to our Post-Production Sound Supervisor David Sandwisch. David took the resulting AAF projects and was able to see the Role layout and get started on editing very quickly. We then took our project to Skywalker Sound in Marin County, CA for a full audio mix. Working on an independent film budget we felt incredibly lucky to be able to bring our film to a world-class audio facility like Skywalker and it wouldn’t have been possible without X2Pro.”

Bokeh was shot on Canon C300 cameras, with Letus anamorphic lens adapters. Outboard recorders captured ProRes files. All footage was imported, de-squeezed and edited entirely in Final Cut Pro X. Reels from Final Cut Pro X were shared to X2Pro for creation of AAF’s, which were then sent to the sound editor.